Portable ash receiver for personal use



July 14, 1953 E- A. STILLMAN 2,

PORTABLE ASH RECEIVER FOR PERSONAL USE Filed Jan. 24, 1950IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII- JNVENTOR.

JTTORNEJS' Patented July 14, 1953 PORTABLE ASH REoEivEa Fort I PERSONALUSE r e N Edwin Stillman, New York, N. Y.

Application January. 24, 1950, Serial No. 140,193

This invention relatesqtoiaportable ash re-v ceiver for personal use bysmokers, 5 a heinventors object. was ,to provide adevice that couldbecarried at all time'sin the-smokers pocket, handbag and the like,without inconveniencing the smoker and which would be ready for instantuse under what otherwise-might .be-eme barrassing circumstances. Forexample, agentleman smckersometimesfinds himself stranded with longashes on his cigaretteand with-no place lzjolann (01. 131 -235) to putthe ashes, whereby he is forced to -deposit the ashes in his trouser legcuff or otherwise dispose of them in an untidy and sometimes dangerousmanner. A lady smoker, also,-is sometimes similarly troubled, and sheusually has even greater diiliculty in handling the situation, Theinventors purpose was to devise a handy and safe device that couldbe'made sufliciently attractive in appearance and adequately handy toinduce the smoker to carry thedevice at all times,-where-v by to beready for such emergencies. Furthermore, the inventor had in mind thenovelty of such a device, his idea. being thatcompaniesof variousproducts whichgive-away inexpensive articles carrying advertisements oftheir businesses, could usesucha portable ash receiver as such anadvertising medium. T

An example of an ash receiver embodying the principles of thepresent'invention is disclosed hereinafter with the .aid-of-theaccompanying drawings. The disclosure of this specific exar n; plefunctions toexplain the principles and operation of the invention sothat they may be applied in other forms. The manner of making the;'device should be apparent to those skilled in the art. Consequently,it is considered unnecessary to explain in detail how the device may bemanufactured.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the example, with the device shown inapproximately full scale; 5

Fig. 2 is on an enlarged scale, as are the balance of the figures, andit shows, in vertical section, the top or upper portion of the deviceillustrated by Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 shown in Fig. 2; I

Fig. 4 is an exploded view parts of the device.

In the case of the example, the device comprises a tubular casing Ihaving a permanently closed bottom 2 and provided with a hinged topclosure '3 having a spring 4, biasing it towards its open position, anda latch 5 for releasably holding it closed. This casing and closure areof certain working I 2 smoothly contoured externally and are dimensionedfor convenient carrying in a gentleman smokers pocket. This also adaptsit for easy carrying in a ladys handbag and the like. vIn this examplethe casing is relatively thin and has a rectangular section, the closure3 bein correspondingly contoured and in the nature of'an inverted cup. cc g The mouth of the casing I has an internal transversegrid 6 adaptedto be swung downwardly. This grid has a spring A biasing it to ahorizontal position with a force proportioned so as to so position it topermit cigarettes, butts and thelike to be ground thereon to'extinguishthem, while permitting the use of manual force to swing the griddownwardly, to provide clear- The grid 5 has an operating handle 1projecting upwardly from the hinged end of its working 7 surface. I Thehandle provides the means for the above described manual swinging ofthegrid 6, without the users fingers contacting the working surfaceonwhich the butts are ground and is, therefore, apt to soil the fingers.

The foregoing features are incorporated throughconstructional detailswhichwill now be described. The casing I and its bottom 2 areillustrated as being an integral form. The same applies to the closure 3as to its top andits depending skirts or sides which provide it with itsinverted cup-like character. These parts may comprise stamped and drawn,sheet metal, units, or they may be made in the form of plastic moldings,using, of course, a plastic thatis at least non-inflammable. In eitherevent, the exterior may be appropriately decorated. These parts providean attractive means for displaying advertising copy. The use ofplastics, for either one or both parts, obviously has attractive colorpossibilities.

A flat metal strip bent to a U-shape 8,, is designed to fitsnugly in therectangular casing land to be frictionally retained therein. Aprojection at one end, appropriately formed, provides the'latch 5, asshown in Fig. l. The other end of the strip 8, has two ears 9 stampedinwardly from its opposite edges and provided with aligned holes inthrough which a pivot pin II i passed to journal the grid 6 and itsoperating handle 1. A single strip metal stamping is used for theseparts 6 and l, with an upwardly bent portion at one end formin thehandle -'I. The cars I2, stamped downwardly from the opposite edges atthe same end as the handle 1 have aligned holes l3 through which thepivot pin H passes. This provides the hinge action.

The pivot pin 1 l is also passed through a spring 4. The lattercomprising a helical torson spring having a horizontal lever end Itbearing upwardly against the bottom of the grid 6, and a dependingvertical lever end l5 bearing against the inside of the adjacentportionof the strip 8. The end of the strip 8 providing the ears 9, alsois formed with a series of spaced hinge loops l6 which cooperate withcomplementary hinge loops l1 provided at the hinge end of the closure 3.A pivot pin l9 comprises a portion of the hinge structure for theclosure. The handle I, of the grid 6, is shaped to press against themounting plate l8 of a hinge element secured to the adjacent portion ofthe closure 3. This plate [8 provides the loops IT, a pivot pin l9completing the hinge structure for the closure.

As illustrated, the handle 1 of the grid 6, is formed to bear againstthe inside of the hinge plate It so that when the closure 3 is closedand latched, the grid ii is swung downwardly slightly, the spring 4 thustransmitting a force tending to open the closure 3. Therefore, when theclosure is'unlatched, as by using the illustrated latch 5, the spring ifunctions to bias the closure into a partially or entirely openposition. The closure stays open during use because it swings far enoughbackwardly to put its weight on the outer side of the pivot pin l9, andthe handle 7 is therefore freely exposed for use.

When the user grinds butts on the grid 6 the butts are extinguished, aflick of the thumb on the handle 1 then dumps them into the casing Iunder the grid 6. The metal strip 8 provides a metal bottom above thecasing bottom 2, this.

making it practical to use some plastics that might otherwise beunsuitable.

A smoker carrying one of these devices, embodying the principles andoperation described, is no longer subjected to embarrassment, whenstranded, while smoking, away from the usual ash tray. The device isready for immediate use when its closure is unlatched, the closure thensnapping open. The grid in the device is available for extinguishing thelighted end of cigarettes or cigars. In the case of the example, theuser then operates the handle I to deposit the butts and ashes into thecasing. Thereafter, the closure may be snapped shut and the device putin the pocket or the handbag, or wherever may be handy about the smokersperson. Adequate space is provided on the exterior of the device forillustrative or descriptive matter, or for ornamentation purposes.

I claim:

1. A cigarette ash and butt receiver including a casing having a closedbottom and a top providing an open mouth, a closure for said mouth, ahinge connecting said closure to said casing adjacent said mouth so thatthe closure is adapted to be swung to open and closed positions, a gridconstructed to span said mouth and to permit the ash end of cigarettesto be ground thereon, a hinge adjacent the first-named hinge andmounting said grid transversely across said mouth and so that the gridmay be swung downwardly to clear the mouth for the deposit of cigarettebutts in said casing, a spring arranged to bias said grid againstswingin downwardly from a position transversely across said mouth, anoperating handle extending upwardly from said grid shaped so that thehandle may be finger operated to swing said grid downwardly withoutfinger contact with thegrids upper surface and said handle beingcontoured and positioned for engagement by said closure so that swingingof the latter closed moves the handle to swing said grid downwardlywhereby the force of said spring is transmitted through the handle tothe closure to bias the latter to an open position, and a latch forholding said closure closed.

2. A cigarette ash and butt receiver including a casing having a closedbottom and a top providing an open mouth, a closure for said mouth, ahinge connecting said closure to said casing adjacent said mouth so thatthe closure is adapted to be swung to open and closed positions, a gridconstructed to span said mouth and to permit the ash end of cigarettesto be ground thereon, a hinge adjacent the first-named hinge andmounting said grid transversely across said mouth and so that the gridmay be swung downwardly to clear the mouth for the deposit of cigarettebutts in said casing, a spring arranged to bias said grid againstswinging downwardly from a position transversely across said mouth, anoperating handle extending upwardly from said grid shaped so that thehandle may be finger operated to swing said grid downwardly withoutfinger contact with the grids upper surface and said handle beingcontoured and positioned for engagement by said closure so that swingingof the latter closed moves the handle to swing said grid downwardlywhereby the force of said spring is transmitted through the handle tothe closure to bias the latter to an open position, and a latch forholding said closure closed, a substantially U-shaped member fittingupright in said casing removably retained frictionally therein andhaving one upstanding end portion mounting the second-named hinge andsaid spring and the other upstanding end portion providing an abutmentfor the swinging end of said grid to restrain the spring from swingingthe grid upwardly out of said mouth, said member together with said gridand spring and abutment forming a unit removable from said casing.

EDWIN A. STILLMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

